Mariners sweep Twins to snap losing streak

After a difficult stretch that saw the Mission Valley Mariners drop five straight games, the squad rebounded in a big way Sunday with a doubleheader sweep over the Glacier Twins, improving their American Legion baseball record to 6-6 on the season.

The Mariners had stumbled through tough matchups earlier in the week, including a pair of losses to both Bitterroot and the Kalispell Lakers. However, they found their rhythm on Sunday at home, combining strong offensive production with resilient pitching to take down Glacier 8-4 and 6-4 in back-to-back contests.

Mission Valley opened the week at home against a sharp-hitting Bitterroot team on Thursday, June 5. The opener saw Bitterroot pile up runs in bunches, including an eight-run fourth inning, to hand the Mariners a 13-2 loss in five innings. Despite a solo home run from Wyatt Wadsworth and a pair of hits from him, the Mariners were limited to four hits overall and committed five errors defensively.

In the nightcap, the Mariners showed more fight, scoring early and racking up nine hits, including home runs from both Holden Emerson and Cole Wadsworth. Emerson went 3-for-4 and Wadsworth added two hits and an RBI. Still, Bitterroot’s consistent scoring—including a four-run second inning—proved too much as Mission Valley fell 8-4. Despite the loss, the Mariners showed flashes of offensive depth and improvement at the plate.

Friday’s road doubleheader in Kalispell presented another challenge. In the opener, the Mariners were leading 1-0 with the Lakers through five innings, but a disastrous six-run sixth inning allowed Kalispell to break the game open in route to a 6-1 win. Brayson DuMont threw 5 2/3 innings, striking out one and allowing five hits, but six walks and a pair of defensive miscues proved costly.

The second game followed a similar pattern. Mission Valley jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the third inning, but Kalispell capitalized in the fifth to score four runs and pulled out a 5-2 win. Cole Wadsworth had another two-hit outing, and Cody Haggard doubled and drove in a run. On the mound, Cash Atkinson delivered a solid six-inning effort, allowing just four hits and no earned runs, but the Mariners’ four errors loomed large.

Back in Polson on Sunday, the Mariners quickly righted the ship. Game one against Glacier opened with a bang as Mission Valley scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Mariners’ offense stayed hot with 13 hits, including three from Emerson and two apiece from Aiden Gfroerer and Paxson DuMont. Landon Shoemake launched a home run and drove in two, while Wyatt Wadsworth added a double and two RBIs.

On the mound, Landon Pablo worked six innings, scattering seven hits while allowing four runs (one earned) and striking out four.

In the second game, Glacier jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, but Mission Valley responded with steady scoring in three of four innings to seize control. Shoemake hit his second home run of the day and drove in two more runs, while Emerson went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and Paxson DuMont added a pair of hits and an RBI.

Aiden Gfroerer pitched five innings, striking out three and allowing just two hits. He navigated around nine walks, keeping Glacier from mounting further rallies. Shoemake closed the game with two shutout innings to seal the 6-4 win.

The Sunday sweep brought Mission Valley back to an even 6-6 record on the season. After the sting of consecutive losses earlier, the Mariners demonstrated their resilience this early season.

Thursday, June 5

At Polson

BITTERROOT 13, MISSION VALLEY 2

Bitterroot - 10381 - 13 - 8 - 0

MissVall - 00011 - 2 - 4 - 5

MISSION VALLEY HITTING: Cole Wadsworth 1-2, Wyatt Wadsworth 2-2, Aiden Gfroerer 1-2; RBI: Wyatt Wadsworth, Brayson DuMont; HR: Wyatt Wadsworth

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING: Cole Wadsworth (3 and 1/3IP, 6H, 9R, 4ER, 5BB, 3SO); Wyatt Wadsworth (1 and 2/3IP, 2H, 4R, 0ER, 1BB, 3SO)

BITTERROOT 8, MISSION VALLEY 4

Bitterroot - 4101020 - 8 - 11 - 1

MissVall - 2000020 - 4 - 9 - 4

MISSION VALLEY HITTING: Cole Wadsworth 2-4, Landon Shoemake 1-4, Holden Emerson 3-4, Wyatt Wadsworth 2-3, Aiden Gfroerer 1-3; RBI: Cole Wadsworth, Holden Emerson, Wyatt Wadsworth; 2B: Emerson, Wyatt Wadsworth; HR: Emerson, Cole Wadsworth

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING: Cody Haggard (5 and 1/3IP, 9H, 7R, 5ER, 2BB, 7SO); Landon Shoemake (1 and 2/3IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 1SO)

Friday, June 6

At Kalispell

KALISPELL LAKERS 6, MISSION VALLEY 1

MissVall - 0001000 - 1 - 3 - 1

Kalispell - 000006x - 6 - 5 - 1

MISSION VALLEY HITTING: Landon Shoemake 1-3, Holden Emerson 1-1, Cody Haggard 1-3; RBI: Emerson; 2B: Emerson

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING: Brayson DuMont (5 and 2/3IP, 5H, 6R, 4ER, 6BB, 1SO); Aiden Gfroerer (1/3IP, 0H, 0R)

KALISPELL 5, MISSION VALLEY 2

MissVall - 1010000 - 2 - 7 - 4

Kalispell - 000041x - 5 - 4 - 0

MISSION VALLEY HITTING: Cole Wadsworth 2-4, Landon Shoemake 1-3, Holden Emerson 1-3, Cody Haggard 1-3, Noah Agliano 1-2, Brayson DuMont 1-3; RBI: Haggard; 2B: Cody Haggard; 3B: Noah Agliano

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING: Cash Atkinson (6IP, 4H, 5R, 0ER, 1BB, 3SO)

Sunday, June 8

At Polson

MISSION VALLEY 8, GLACIER 4

Glacier - 0002110 - 4 - 7 - 3

MisVal - 400040x - 8 - 13 - 4

GLACIER HITTING: Michael Miller 1-4, Trenton Derosa 2-4, Reed Boyer 1-3, Collison Lewis 1-4, Connor Magnuson 1-2, Derek Juntunen 1-3; RBI: Derosa, Boyer, Derek Juntunen; 2B: Magnuson, Derosa

GLACIER PITCHING: Dawson Juntunen (5 and 1/3IP, 13H, 8R, 7ER, 2BB, 4SO); Trenton Derosa (2/3IP, 0H, 0R)

MISSION VALLEY HITTING: Cole Wadsworth 1-4, Landon Shoemake 1-2, Holden Emerson 3-4, Wyatt Wadsworth 1-1, Aiden Gfroerer 2-3, Paxson DuMont 2-4, Justin Brown 1-3, Landon Pablo 1-4, Brayson DuMont 1-3; RBI: Shoemake 2, Emerson, Wyatt Wadsworth 2, Gfroerer , Brayson DuMont; 2B: Wyatt Wadsworth; HR: Landon Shoemake

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING: Wyatt Wadsworth (1IP, 0H, 0R); Landon Pablo (6IP, 7H, 4R, 1ER, 3BB, 4SO)

MISSION VALLEY 6, GLACIER 4

Glacier - 3010000 - 4 - 2 - 2

MisVal - 102210x - 6 - 6 - 0

GLACIER HITTING: Nolan Amerman 1-3, West Amerman 1-2; RBI: Amerman, Michael Miller, West Amerman; 3B: Nolan Amerman

GLACIER PITCHING: Treyson Murphy (3 and 2/3IP, 5H, 5R, 5ER, 4BB, 1SO); West Amerman (2 and 1/3IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 1SO)

MISSION VALLEY HITTING: Cole Wadsworth 1-3, Landon Shoemake 1-3, Holden Emerson 2-3, Paxson DuMont 2-3; RBI: Shoemake 2, Emerson, Haggard, Paxton DuMont; 2B: Holden Emerson; HR: Landon Shoemake

MISSION VALLEY PITCHING: Aiden Gfroerer (5IP, 2H, 4R, 3ER, 9BB, 3SO); Landon Shoemake (2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 1SO)